1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a mailbox and, more particularly, to a dual access mailbox that includes a wireless mechanism for alerting residents when the mail has been delivered.
2. Prior Art
In many parts of the United States, especially rural areas, mailboxes are remotely located with respect to the residence of the person to whom the mailbox belongs. Often this distance can be as much as several hundred yards or more, making it necessary to travel outside, often in inclement weather, in order to determine if mail is present.
Previous attempts to provide a device that indicates the presence of mail in the mailbox have been primarily mechanical devices, ranging from flags that pop up when the door of the mailbox is open, to springs with small ribbons on them. These previous attempts rely on the opening of the door of the mailbox as a signal that mail has been placed in the box. However, such an approach does not work if the door has been inadvertently opened and closed, if the springs or flags have not been reset or at night.
Mail is generally delivered to a box positioned adjacent the home or street of the person receiving the mail. Checking the box for the arrival of the mail can be troublesome for those individuals having a box positioned adjacent the street. This can be particularly troublesome during inclimate weather and for those suffering from various disabilities. It would be a benefit, therefore, to have a device that would provide a visual indication that is readily visible from a distance that signaled the arrival of the mail.
Furthermore, the use of mailboxes with one or more doors is known in the prior art. More specifically, mailboxes with one or more doors heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of depositing and retrieving mail from either the front or the back of the mailbox are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations.
Accordingly, a need remains for a mailbox that has both an alerting mechanism and allows access from the both ends of the mailbox.